re(flight): the throttle is analogue — target speed interpolates cruise -> maximum

RT is an analogue trigger, so "held" was one point on a curve. Walking it 0.00 ->
1.00 (throttle_curve.py) gives a straight ramp: 438, 626, 879, 1094, 1342 units/s.
Dividing by the ~1.2 time-base factor, the endpoints land on the definition's own
numbers (365 vs CruisingVelocity 350; 1118 vs MaximumVelocity 1200) and the midpoint
follows, so

  target speed = CruisingVelocity + RT * (MaximumVelocity - CruisingVelocity)

which refines the earlier "selects one of three targets" reading: those three are the
curve's endpoints.

It also refutes the standing afterburner hypothesis that full RT is the burner: the
curve is smooth through full deflection with no step, and the shield does not move.

The LT half is not measured yet — the entity scan needs the craft moving when it
runs, so a mission left idling drops out of it. Bind early.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01NptfmpjdpNCKEez6d2xvA9

docs/re/flight-speed-law.md

@@ -22,8 +22,9 @@ differentiated over **1-second windows**, never per sample.
 | `LT` held | 203 121 135 121 115 146 122 | **~125** | `MinimumVelocity` 100 |
 | release | 369 451 427 425 445 390 465 | back to **~430** | — |
 
-So the throttle **selects a target speed** — minimum / cruise / maximum — and the
-craft converges to it; releasing either trigger returns it to cruise. It is not a
+So the throttle **selects a target speed** and the craft converges to it; releasing
+either trigger returns it to cruise. (**Refined below**: the trigger is analogue, so
+the target is a continuous interpolation and these three are its endpoints.) It is not a
 force model with the throttle adding thrust, which is what a reimplementation would
 most likely have assumed from `Acceleration`/`Deceleration` alone. Those two fields
 govern the **convergence rate**: the release phase falls ~1 314 → ~432 in about two
@@ -131,3 +132,44 @@ anyone re-probes the obvious buttons.
 
 (`RB` is the nose gun, `Y` the missile mount and the d-pad the tactical map — see
 [flight controls](flight-controls-runtime.md) — so those were not held here.)
+
+---
+
+# The throttle is ANALOGUE: the target speed interpolates cruise → maximum
+
+`RT` is an analogue trigger, so "held" was only ever one point on a curve. Walking
+it in five steps ([`tools/re-capture/throttle_curve.py`](../../tools/re-capture/throttle_curve.py),
+2.5 s to converge then 5 s of sampling per step):
+
+| `RT` | settled speed (1 s windows) | mean |
+|---|---|---|
+| 0.00 | 465 · 411 · 373 · 504 | **438** |
+| 0.25 | 648 · 554 · 678 · 622 | **626** |
+| 0.50 | 739 · 961 · 897 · 919 | **879** |
+| 0.75 | 1028 · 1086 · 977 · 1283 | **1094** |
+| 1.00 | 1359 · 1306 · 1517 · 1186 | **1342** |
+
+A straight ramp. Dividing by the ~1.2 time-base factor established above, the
+endpoints land on the definition's own numbers — 438/1.2 ≈ **365** against
+`CruisingVelocity` **350**, and 1342/1.2 ≈ **1118** against `MaximumVelocity`
+**1200** — and the midpoint follows: 879/1.2 ≈ 733 against the predicted
+350 + 0.5·(1200−350) = 775. So
+
+```
+target speed = CruisingVelocity + RT · (MaximumVelocity − CruisingVelocity)
+```
+
+with `LT` presumably mirroring it down to `MinimumVelocity` (measured only at full
+deflection so far: ~125 against 100).
+
+**This also refutes a live hypothesis about the afterburner.** Full `RT` producing
+more than `MaximumVelocity` looked like it might *be* the burner; it is not — the
+curve is smooth through full deflection, with no step, and the shield does not move.
+Full throttle is simply full throttle.
+
+Raw samples: [`captures/throttle-curve-rt.csv`](captures/throttle-curve-rt.csv).
+
+⏳ The `LT` half of the curve is **not measured**: the entity scan that locks onto
+the player needs the craft to be *moving* when it runs (it searches changing position
+triples), and a mission left idling long enough for the craft to slow or die drops
+out of the scan. Bind early, while the craft still has speed.